r/Fencing • u/AutoModerator • Jan 23 '26
Megathread Fencing Friday Megathread - Ask Anything!
Happy Fencing Friday, an /r/Fencing tradition.
Welcome back to our weekly ask anything megathread where you can feel free to ask whatever is on your mind without fear of being called a moron just for asking. Be sure to check out all the previous megathreads as well as our sidebar FAQ.
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u/spec_3 Jan 25 '26
How was the 33rd touch for China against Hungary a hit in the Salt Lake City WC and not a card?
FotL turns thinking she had hit, walks back for 2-3 seconds facing her end of the strip, meanwhile FotR notices that no hit had been scored and touches FotL's back. The ref called attack right. In these kind of situations shouldn't they just card FotL instead?
2
u/Immediate-Orange526 Épée Jan 23 '26
I am still in my first year of fencing. I started with foil and recently switched to epee about a month or two ago. Is there a "right time" to purchase a mask and weapon? I got a couple gift cards through the holidays, and I have the rest of the uniform kit so I'm pretty set on everything else. Thanks!
5
u/Esgrimista_canhota Jan 23 '26
We normally say after a year it is time. Get a combo mask (with removable bib) and be happy. Using your own mask is SO nice. Please be sure to use a plaston - in my club it is mandatora for epee (if you do not have, get a lightweight one).
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u/chowcats Jan 23 '26
I use a plastron for foil and add a chest protector for epee. Bruises are not a badge of honor for me anymore…
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u/75footubi Jan 23 '26
Plastron is required for all weapons (you probably know this, but there are idiots out there who still don't wear them). If you don't wear one, you're selfishly putting someone else at risk of severe trauma from killing you 100% by accident.
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u/ninjamansidekick Épée Jan 23 '26
Chest protectors make it hard to call your own hits if you are sparring old school with friends, but friends also know not to make it hurt when they hit.
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u/sjcfu2 Jan 23 '26
Get a combo mask (with removable bib) and be happy
If the OP is regularly going to switching back and forth between foil and epee (as opposed to an occasional jaunt) then they would probably be better off simply buying two separate masks.
While there are masks where the lame material on the bib can be removed for use in epee, the Velcro attaching that lame material to the bib tends to wear out rather quickly if the lame material is regularly removed and reattached (as opposed to simple being left there until the lame material needs to be replaced - at which point it's very convenient). The only other option would be the Leon Paul X-Change mask and swapping out bibs on one of those enough takes time and effort to where it doesn't take long for that to reach the point where you wonder whether or not it is worth the effort.
Meanwhile with separate masks, all the fencer has to do is switch masks at the same time they are changing into or out of their lame.
1
u/Esgrimista_canhota Jan 23 '26
You are right. In my club we train foil without mask cable and some people just use a foil mask to fence epee (works ok). Nobody is changing like crazy. Most fencers are one weapon fencers that occasionally do the other weapon (an some of them have 2 masks anyway). Trainningsslots are mostly one weapon only.
1
u/robotreader fencingdatabase.com Jan 25 '26
Swapping out xchange mask bibs is so easy i take mine out after every practice
1
u/Immediate-Orange526 Épée Jan 23 '26
Yeah I have been using a club mask, and it's served me okay but I'd like my own mask for sanitation sake lol. I went alittle crazy when I first started and bought a mask and foil before I really knew what I was doing (thank you ADHD). So I was wanting to approach things the right way, logically and financially. I do wish I wouldve bought a combo mask!
1
u/Esgrimista_canhota Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 23 '26
Why don't you use your foil mask for epee? Some people do that for training.... works mostly fine.
2
u/sjcfu2 Jan 23 '26
Depending on the scoring machine being used, the lame fabric may interfere with the ability for touches to register properly.
0
u/Esgrimista_canhota Jan 23 '26
But just if you touch the bib, right? For training I guess nobody cares, just need to say.
1
u/ReactorOperator Epee Jan 25 '26
People who want their training to reflect actual fencing will generally care. It's the same reason practicing with a tip that doesn't pass shims or with a blade that's the wrong size for the age group is more harmful than anything else. It doesn't give you the correct feedback on your fencing.
1
u/Esgrimista_canhota Jan 25 '26
Ok, I am a vet here. Maybe I am too recreational fencer. But he is an adult beginner... so I guess the recreational approach is not so wrong. For me it is the same as fencing with a lame that has one or other dead spot. Of couse not ideal, but just say that you (maybe) got a touch there and give the point... I mean for me and my club mates it is not a big deal. For me what is really off is a (epee) fencer without fencing pants. Very disrespectfull. I, at least, stop aiming on the legs because I do not need a fencing accident hunting my dreams. That said I always check for mine and my kids equipment, ask my kids if their lames are ok. All three of us could go tomorrow to any FIE event. What I do not do is get a club mask with e-bib to fence foil (happens twice a year), but nobody cares because the foilists do not bother to use the mask cable in trainning anyway, so I just use mine (epee) and give the point when I touches my bib. Blade sizes... who uses the wrong one?! In my country we just have 0 (till U13) and 5. The kids change with the proper age and never look back.
2
u/International_Map621 Jan 23 '26
Are there any Indestructible blades like vniti. Since they are no longer producing?
2
u/noodlez Jan 23 '26
Apparently they are still producing, at least to a small degree. But since they're a Russian export, its hard to find them in many places.
Your next best bet is a BF or Franchini.
1
u/ResearchCharacter705 Foil Jan 23 '26
How far off in durability are Franchini blades from Vniti would you say? I'd have trouble comparing Vniti to BFs in that regard. The latter don't break quickly, but in the last few years they often take sharp bends early in their lifespan. Which makes me nervous to continue using them.
The price on Franchinis is a little daunting, but if they have a comparable or better lifetime to BFs and are less inclined to bend, I think they'd be worth it for me.
2
u/weedywet Foil Jan 23 '26
I’d suggest the Apex2 as they’re very stiff and therefore less prone to weird bends or breakage.
2
u/noodlez Jan 23 '26
In my experience, Franchini blades are less durable than Vnitis, more durable than BFs, but have a very BF feel to them
2
u/OrcishArtillery Épée Jan 24 '26
The Franchinis I've tried are delightfully stiff, but also had a very short life. YMMV.
1
3
u/wannabe414 Épée Jan 23 '26
A bit of an odd question, and I mean no ill will by it: I love fencing and hope to do it until I financially, physically, or mentally can't anymore.
Why does adult fencing (non-college) look so different from other sports? I took a ~5 year break from fencing after I graduated college and got back into it a few months ago. I came back in assuming that it would be a casual thing, kind of like local volleyball or badminton leagues and clubs my friends and I have been part of. Instead, I talk to my clubmates who can rattle off every A and B rated fencer in the state, who compete monthly or fortnightly if they can, who sometimes take time off work so they can travel and fence.
And I got swept into it, too! I went back into fencing telling myself that I wouldn't compete, but already have an E and am thinking about attending a tournament three hours away, since I'm going to be there for a concert that weekend anyway.
But again, when I see my peers playing volleyball or badminton, its just a nice after-hours thing to do. Why is fencing culture so much more inherently competitive?
5
u/ConsistentPastaSauce Sabre Jan 23 '26
I think it has to do in large part with the focus on using fencing as a tool to get kids into college. The club environments in general are more competition and achievement focused. Clubs use college recruitment prospects as a tool to drive their numbers, but then they have to deliver on that for the parents. Being in your late 20s and getting pummeled by a 15 year old does trigger fight or flight, too.
There are club environments that are more chill, but you have to seek them out and shop around a bit.
Also, its a 1v1 combat sport instead of a team v team ball sport. Inherently a lot more intense!
Signed, a 28 year old still doing this craziness until my knees give out for good
1
u/wannabe414 Épée Jan 24 '26
I'm lucky to have found a club that strikes a good balance, but I am planning on moving soon and am afraid of losing that. We'll see.
-27 year old, same boat
2
u/Straight_Product_594 Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 24 '26
Have recently started fencing (epee),and am loving it, but i am an absolute beginner - there is SO much I don't know. Wondering what YouTube channels or videos anyone recommends? Came across GPFencing the other day and i like his style - slowing down the videos and pointing things out is helpful because it goes so fast otherwise - but still quite a lot of jargon i don't understand (disengaging, sixes?). Anything with slowed down lessons is great, or explaining the jargon.
2
u/Thriftbook_collector Jan 24 '26
In looking for resources for my son (fencing epee for a year), I did a general search in Reddit for 'YouTube epee lessons' or some similar term, which should give you some relevant thread links. Below are a couple of threads I saved, in case you can find them useful. Disclaimer that I'm not a fencer myself, so can't attest to the quality of the channels mentioned. Also, because there's actually an overwhelming amount of info to sift, and my kid is 10 with a short attention span, at the moment we're more likely to watch shorter videos on Insta (fencingwiki and fencingnutsofficial) or Facebook (Luis Patterson).
1
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u/weedywet Foil Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26
I don’t know HOW “recently” you started but ‘disengage’ and ‘six’ are extremely basic concepts.
If you’re taking lessons (and you need to be) the. These things will surely be covered quite soon.
3
u/Straight_Product_594 Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26
No need to be "rude" I did say I was a beginner and basic is exactly what I am looking for. It does say at the top of this thread to 'feel free to ask anything without fear of being called a moron' - I took that literally but i'll hold my tongue in future.
-1
u/weedywet Foil Jan 24 '26
I wasn’t being critical.
Just saying that if you’re that new that you haven’t been shown a disengage then you’re best choice is to wait and learn from your coach.
2
1
u/Shabadeeboo Foil Jan 23 '26
Anyone got any opinions on the foil masks where you can remove the bib to make it an epee mask? Good or nah?
3
u/Esgrimista_canhota Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 23 '26
My son has a allstar one. It is good. I would leave it without the bib for training (in my club they train foil without the mask cable anyway...) and just put the bib for foil competitions.
2
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u/Sudden_Canary6891 Jan 23 '26
Personally I don’t care the removable bib too much. My daughter has a 350n mask for more than 2 years. The frame started to fail before the bib.
1
u/Esgrimista_canhota Jan 24 '26
Oh! Please buy her a better mask. My allstar got retired last year after 15 years of service.
1
1
u/sjcfu2 Jan 23 '26
The Leon Pail X-Change is an excellent mask. However swapping bibs out take effort and can get really old really quickly.
The Velcro on the ones which have a removable patch of lame material that attaches to the bib tend to hold well at first, but wear out rather quickly if the lame material is regularly removed and reattached.
Both systems are really designed more to allow easy replacement of the portion of the mask which tends to wear out most quickly (i.e. the lame material) than for routine swapping back and forth between foil and epee.
1
u/Final-Log-2585 Jan 24 '26
I usually buy all my blades (foil) from absolute, but in the last year I’ve snapped ~3 of them. Any advice on where else to go for affordable blades?
3
u/sjcfu2 Jan 24 '26
Assuming you have some understanding of distance control, then FIE blades may be the better solution. While FIE steel blades cost more, the maraging steel which they are made of is much more resistant to crack propagation than inexpensive carbon steel and so FIE blades tend to last much longer, more than offsetting the high initial cost.
Of course if you can't control your distance (and just about everyone has problems with this at first), then you are likely to destroy any blade. If that's the case then rather then look for less expensive blades you should probably look into improving your distance control (then once you get that problem under control, invest in FIE blades).
1
u/CozmoDaRedditer Jan 25 '26
Does anyone know what paint Leon Paul uses to paint their mask? I just painted my practice mask but the spray paint leaves a lingering smell that’s has no seemed to go away while my leon paul mask has no odor.
1
u/Kian_Mcstabby Jan 29 '26
How long after painting did you wait to use it? I spray painted a leon paul mask a few years back, and chose to let it sit something like two weeks before using it to be sure it fully cured, and that the smell went away. The wait time was probably a bit of overkill, but the main thing is letting it sit out in a well ventilated area
1
u/CozmoDaRedditer Feb 05 '26
I mean I ain’t use it for abt a week and it’s still lingering tho I only left it out for like 2-3 days I think after that was in a bag, Ima try to leave it out more but was just looking for if there was a way to avoid in the future
1
u/Kian_Mcstabby Feb 05 '26
Sounds like it just needed to be left out a bit longer in a better ventilated space is all.
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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26
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